Intel puts its energy into smart grid development in Germany

Intel is putting its energy into the development of smart grid standards and monitoring systems in Germany, with company executives announcing a number of initiatives at the Cebit trade show Monday.

Another vital factor in connecting up smart grid elements will be having them all talk the same language. To that end, Intel is joining the EEBus Initiative, a German smart grid standards consortium, said Christian Morales, the company's vice president and general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Morales also said that MVV Energie, a utility based in Mannheim, Germany, is using Intel's Puma 6 smart home gateway in a large-scale trial with its customers of secure decentralized energy management. The Puma 6 is based on an Atom chip and allows consolidation of functions including Internet access, TV, home security and energy management in one device, according to Intel.The need for consolidation and common standards in the field of smart energy management was underlined by the EEBus Initiative Monday, as it and 10 other IT and energy industry associations signed a joint declaration committing to make Germany the leading market for smart home technologies and calling for the development of manufacturer-independent standards for smart home and smart grid communications.